{"id":315,"date":"2015-07-10T12:36:40","date_gmt":"2015-07-10T12:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=315"},"modified":"2015-07-10T12:36:40","modified_gmt":"2015-07-10T12:36:40","slug":"legacy-of-the-guardians-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=315","title":{"rendered":"Legacy of the Guardians – Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

Legacy of the Guardians<\/span><\/h2>\n

by AJ Marks<\/span><\/p>\n

Part 3<\/span><\/p>\n

Ahmed sat at his station when the orders came in. Quickly reading through then, he then went over to the captain.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it appears the Council decided to do something, maybe they\u2019ll hear these damned transmissions the Skartians are sending,\u201d the captain said, loud enough for everyone on the bridge to hear.<\/p>\n

Ahmed found himself intrigued by the statement, but knew time would tell. The Skartians could wait patiently until anyone in the neutral zone left before continuing the transmissions.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave the scanners report when they have the Ilderian ships, otherwise maintain the status quo,\u201d the captain said, to a now confused bridge crew. They turned and continued to do their jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there anything wrong captain?\u201d Ahmed asked, knowing that he was asking the same question everyone else on board was thinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d the captain replied, taking a moment to think about a suitable reply. \u201cIt seems that we\u2019re to be relieved when the Ilderians get here. HQ says that we are to leave the neutral zone at that moment, after bringing the Ilderian commander up to speed of what is happening,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, at least someone will be here in case something happens, and they are not an ally of the Skartians,\u201d Ahmed said, breathing a bit of relief. However it did little to relieve the tension in the air, almost as if they were at war. Since the patrol started he had felt it everywhere on board the ship. Even whispered conversations seemed held the tone of wariness.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue, although I\u2019m not sure that matters much to them anymore,\u201d the captain said, his voice hushed slightly so that only Ahmed could hear him. He gave the captain a glance wondering if there was more to the statement. He looked at the others who had turned to do their duties, knowing that this conversation would be continued at a later time, when they were alone.<\/p>\n

He went back over to his station, watching for the incoming Ilderian fleet. Several minutes later he was interrupted by the captain stating he was headed down to the mess hall, and if Ahmed would join him. After nodded yes, the captain gave the bridge to the next highest ranking person and walked out.<\/p>\n

Ahmed walked in silence beside him, waiting for the captain to speak. They passed several people going about their normal work. The captain stopped next to an empty room and motioned Ahmed inside.<\/p>\n

\u201cThought we were headed to the mess hall?\u201d Ahmed said, giving a slight nod to the captain, knowing that he wanted to talk.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeeded to find a good spot to talk to you, and not spook the crew,\u201d the captain said. \u201cI need to let you know everything that\u2019s been going on in the past couple of months, and seeing as you\u2019re the second-in-command, its time you knew. We were told to keep the information secret.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahmed watched as he walked back to the door and locked it. Now he wondered what he had not been told.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the past couple of months we\u2019ve intercepted several highly encrypted messages, headed towards Earth,\u201d the captain said. Ahmed felt slightly shocked. He knew about a recent transmission, but had no idea so many had been intercepted. \u201cJust recently the signals were determined to be Skartian, jibberish stuff, but enough to have the higher-ups spooked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome sort of attack?\u201d Ahmed asked. \u201cSomething like sixty years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know, that\u2019s what has them so spooked, and lately the transmissions have increased,\u201d the captain said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo they know where the transmissions are heading on Earth?\u201d Ahmed said, already knowing in his gut where it might be.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a vague idea, the Middle East somewhere. They can\u2019t get any clearer data, but that\u2019s their best estimate for when the message arrives at Earth, and what part of the planet is able to receive such a message. It\u2019s why I didn\u2019t want to tell you,\u201d the captain replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, someone from my homeland might be working with the Skartians,\u201d Ahmed said, disliking the feeling now. \u201cIt\u2019s an unstable area.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, perfect for a few sleeper agents of the Skartians to hide,\u201d the captain said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes anyone else know?\u201d Ahmed asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, very highly sensitive material, and until HQ had real proof, they are trying to be as quiet as possible about it,\u201d the captain said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds like good advice, thanks captain for telling me, now some of your recent orders make sense,\u201d Ahmed said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, I knew I could count on you,\u201d the captain replied, giving Ahmed a hearty slap on the shoulder. \u201cNow, let\u2019s get that coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

They walked out heading towards the mess hall. A short time later they stepped back onto the bridge which seemed the same as earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything new to report?\u201d the captain asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo sir,\u201d the young man in charge replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d the captain replied, sitting back down in the command chair. \u201cGuess we\u2019ll wait for now.\u201d<\/p>\n

They settled in to wait for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir, I\u2019ve got a contact heading our way,\u2019 the scanner operator said, a couple of hours later. \u201cComputers identify the ships as Ilderian.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt last, get me the commander if you can,\u201d the captain said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

A couple of minutes later the Moscow and her escorts left the neutral zone, heading back to Independence Station.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Jack sat back in his chair, looking at the computer screen and rubbing the top of his head. So far, the day had been relatively peaceful. Though he loved such days his experiences taught him they were usually followed by bad days.<\/p>\n

He wanted to do space exploration, ever since he was little. He understood where he was now, he would probably never get any closer to that dream. Steve walked into the room interrupting his peaceful thoughts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you better see this,\u201d Steve said in a rush, handing him, turning on the TV in the corner of the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s so important that it can\u2019t wait Steve?\u201d Jack asked, wondering what had happened to his peaceful day.<\/p>\n

He turned to the TV, watching as the picture cleared. Jack used every curse word in the dictionary, including a few from other races. He watched as a reply of a plane hitting one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. Jack noticed both buildings were burning, smoking coming out of them. He could also see fire in the holes of a raging fire going on. The reporters were stating that the United States was under a terrorist attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cSon of a bitch, what in Hades is going on down there,\u201d Jack asked, not expecting an answer from Steve. \u201cJust when I thought mankind was about to enter a new age, some idiot goes and does this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve already contacted our agents to see what\u2019s going on,\u201d Steve said, before continuing. \u201cYou don\u2019t think that, well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a connection between this attack and the Skartian messages,\u201d Jack said, looking up at Steve, who merely waited. \u201cYeah, I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShould we contact Randall?\u201d Steve asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Jack said, not even protesting over Randall\u2019s name like he usually did. He watched Steve pick up the phone and putting it on loudspeaker. \u201cThough not like you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d Jack asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cProtesting about Randall,\u201d Steve said. Jack looked over at his friend then back at the TV trying to think of some sort of comeback. He was saved by Randall answering.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Randall here,\u201d he said over the speaker.<\/p>\n

\u201cRandall, you have a TV on?\u201d Jack asked, not bothering to state who it was.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat, Jack?\u201d Randall said, sounding confused. \u201cWhy would I have a TV on?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTurn one on,\u201d Steve said, interrupting anything that either Jack or Randall might say.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, hold on a sec,\u201d Randall stated. They heard some muffled sounds as Randall moved around wherever he was. They both waited for Randall to say something else. \u201cHoly crap,\u201d Randall said, indicating he saw what was going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Steve said, agreeing with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe twin towers and the pentagon hit by suicide attacks,\u201d Randall said, shocking Jack with that bit of news.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pentagon as well?\u201d Randall asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, they said it on the station I\u2019m on,\u201d Randall answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe station we\u2019re on hasn\u2019t said anything about that,\u201d Steve said, but even as it said it the reporters on their channel stated something about the Pentagon being hit. \u201cDamn, guess so, what will they hit next?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t know,\u201d Jack said, thinking about the situation before buzzing his secretary. It took a few buzzes before she finally replied. \u201cGet me General Ginal,\u201d he said to her. She answered with an affirmative and went to the phone. She had the general a few minutes later and told Jack he was on line two.<\/p>\n

\u201cRandall hold on a sec, going to bring in General Ginal, conference call style,\u201d Jack said, not waiting for his reply. It took a few seconds and he hoped he did it right. \u201cGeneral, Randall you here?\u201d he asked, hearing both men reply. \u201cAll right, general, what in Hades is going on down there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAside from mass chaos, we don\u2019t know. Woke up this morning, news slowly trickled in that some planes were hijacked, and next thing I know, the twin towers are hit,\u201d Ginal said. \u201cThe reports are sketchy, but from our intel, at least one more plane, possibly a second coming in from Asia could also be hijacked. It isn\u2019t responding to air traffic controllers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCrazy,\u201d Randall said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything we can do?\u201d Jack asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t think so, we have to let this play out Jack,\u201d Ginal said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has to be what the Skartians have had planned,\u201d Jack said, almost positive of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no proof, but I do want all units on high alert,\u201d Ginal said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn it,\u201d Steve said.<\/p>\n

Jack felt frustrated. There had to be more they could do. He cursed his limited intel which hindered any movement on his part.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Ahmed looked around the bridge, the captain sat in his chair, the rest of the crew were doing their duty. The fleet had left the neutral zone after talking with the Ilderians. With them there, and having all the information they had, he looked forward to some time off, he hoped.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what do you think about them Ahmed?\u201d the captain asked, catching Ahmed thinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, from what I\u2019ve learned, the Ilderians are an honorable race, so they will not be easily swayed by the Skartians,\u201d Ahmed replied honestly. \u201cIf they find something, they will inform the council.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I thought,\u201d the captain replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir, we\u2019re getting a high-powered signal,\u201d one of the bridge crew said, getting their attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cSource?\u201d Ahmed asked right away. He both feared and hoped it came from a Skartian position.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarth?\u2019 the officer replied, confused.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarth?\u201d Ahmed replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you determine the destination?\u201d the captain asked. The question caught Ahmed off guard slightly, before realizing it was vial.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust a sec,\u201d the officer said, working on the computer for a few minutes. She finally looked up. \u201cGasica.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahmed stopped and looked up at the captain at that answer. It was not what either of them expected at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cNotify Independence Station and the Ilder fleet at once,\u201d the captain said, sending several crew members scrambling to work, before he turned to Ahmed. \u201cAre we out of the neutral zone?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahmed took a moment to look at the scanners and maps before replying. \u201cYes, cleared it fifteen minutes ago,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrder the fleet to stop, we patrol this side of the neutral zone, and see if we can pick up any scan of Gasica,\u201d the captain ordered.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir, incoming message from independence Station,\u201d the communications officer said, looking stunned. \u201cThey say the World Trade Center\u2019s been attacked by what they are calling terrorists, happened about twenty-five minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was silence on the bridge as they all heard the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy Allah, what is going on?\u201d Ahmed said, not believing the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo kidding,\u201d another person said echoing Ahmed\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral Cave,\u201d an aide said, walking into his office. Jack and Steve still sat watching the news, with Randall and Ginal still on speaker phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes?\u201d Jack replied, tearing his eyes away from the TV and giving his attention to the aide.<\/p>\n

\u201cReport from the battlecruiser Moscow,\u201d the aide said, handing him a piece of paper before Jack dismissed him. He watched the aide look over at the TV before heading out.<\/p>\n

He scanned through the paper suddenly feeling sick to his stomach. \u201cGentlemen, it appears we have a new problem. The Second Patrol squad intercepted a high powered transmission from Earth to Gasica.\u201d Silence met his statement even as he continued. \u201cThe captain of the Moscow is currently patrolling the border, in our territory without entering the neutral zone, and alerted the Ilderian fleet to the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo we know what the message said?\u201d Ginal asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Jack said, reading through the report. \u201cThey can only determine the language, which sees to be Skartian in nature. We haven\u2019t broken their code yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

He paused gathering his thoughts and looked over at the TV, stopping at the sight.<\/p>\n

\u201cHades,\u201d he said, watching as the room grew silent at the sight. There on the screen he watched a tower collapse. He had never seen such a sight before, immediately thinking about the loss of life. No one said anything for several seconds, absorbing what they saw.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me I didn\u2019t see that,\u201d Randall said, being the first one to recover his voice. Everyone then started talking at once.<\/p>\n

\u201cHold it,\u201d Jack said, raising his voice slightly. He had to wait a few seconds until everyone finally quieted down enough for one to be heard. \u201cI think we should put the Saratoga carrier group on level one alert, and send it to the neutral zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo it,\u201d the general said. Jack tuned into the ship communications waiting a second for the captain of the Saratoga to appear.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral Cave,\u201d he said, looking unsurprised at being called.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour group is to move out to the neutral zone at once, meet up with the second patrol group already there,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir, I take it this has to do with what is going on back home,\u201d the man said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYep, be wary of any ships in the neutral zone attempting to head into our space,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you expecting something?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn times like this, you can\u2019t be too sure,\u201d Jack replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we\u2019ll move out right away,\u201d the captain said, ending the conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think it will be enough?\u201d Ginal asked after the conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood point,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s a full-scale invasion, one patrol group and a carrier group won\u2019t be enough,\u201d Steve said causing Jack to think about the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the fastest group we have that\u2019s ready to go?\u201d Jack finally asked, looking up at Steve. He gave the question some thought before answering.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be the fifth battlecruiser fleet under Vice Admiral Dinen,\u201d Steve stated.<\/p>\n

Jack quickly asked for Greg, waiting a second before the trusted aide came in.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir?\u201d he said, looking a bit unsure. Their attention went back to the TV, watching in sickening horror as the second tower collapsed as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreg, get over to command, have them move the fifth battlecruiser fleet to the neutral zone, have them meet up with the Saratoga carrier group and the second patrol squadron,\u201d Jack said, watching as Greg nodded, taking a note down so he would not forget and took off for the command room.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you think the communications and these terrorist attacks are related?\u201d Steve asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, but I\u2019m not going to take any chances,\u201d Jack said, deciding to err on the side of caution. His gut screamed yes there was a connection, but he had no proof other than a few messages going back and forth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should gather all of our resources in finding out who did this, and when we have them we\u2019ll have our answer,\u201d Ginal said, giving some direction for them to go.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood idea,\u201d Randall said, speaking up for the first time in a while. \u201cAnything I should tell the council?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, state that Earth space is temporally off-limits to travel by others, any ship arriving in our space will be met with warships,\u201d Ginal said, giving a real sense of what was going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll inform all ships we\u2019re at alert level two,\u201d Jack said, indicating the situation of the fleet. He knew they were not far from war, and he hoped that did not happen. The level also indicated to the commanders to expect hostile actions and if it happened, they could return fire right away.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, we all have things we need to be doing, so let\u2019s get to work. \u201cJack, I may need you to come down here and talk with some of the others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be ready, let me know,\u2019 Jack said before everyone hung up. He looked over at Steve who strangely seemed quite calm despite everything. \u201cWell, looks like we have a job to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRighto,\u201d Steve said, nodding his head. \u201cI\u2019ll send out the war alert, and get a message to the\u00a0Moscow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks,\u201d Jack replied, watching as Steve walked out of the room. He looked back at the TV watching as people still seemed stunned by everything, and the President of the United States seemed to be making some sort of speech. If only he knew what exactly was going on up here, poor chap was completely unaware of it, but Jack had the feeling that would change.<\/p>\n

End part 3<\/p>\n

Continued in part 4<\/a><\/p>\n

Comment below or send to AJMarks01@aol.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Legacy of the Guardians by AJ Marks Part 3 Ahmed sat at his station when the orders came in. Quickly reading through then, he then went over to the captain. \u201cWell, it appears the Council decided to do something, maybe they\u2019ll hear these damned transmissions the Skartians are sending,\u201d the captain said, loud enough for […]
Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[3,32,28,5,12],"class_list":["post-315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-original","tag-aj-marks","tag-legacy-of-the-guardians","tag-original","tag-sci-fi","tag-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=315"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":320,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315\/revisions\/320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}